How to Survive in a Scale-Up Business Master the Human Skills Needed to Thrive in Young, High-Growth Businesses

Part 1: Introduction 1. Why I wrote this book 2. Who this is book for 3. How to read this book Part 2: Scale-ups: Understand the space 4. What scale-ups are 5. Why scale-ups are important 6. Are scale-ups the right place for you? 7. What makes scale-ups particularly challenging to work in Part 3: Learn to navigate scale-ups like a pro 8. How to find and land the right job in the right scale-up 9. What to do in your first 90 days 10. How to manage common challenging/toxic patterns that stop you from thriving 11. Special note for founders/co-founders Part 4: Learn from real-life stories 12. Stories of struggles 13. Stories of thriving Part 5: Let’s focus on YOU 14. How to thrive when you are different: Introverts, HSPs, minorities, people with ADHD or dyslexia 15. How to navigate job loss 16. How to navigate a mental health breakdown 17. How to re(build) your emotional capacity Conclusion: How to turn your insights into practice

Biography

Vidya Murali has been working in the UK’s leading tech businesses, including Amazon, and high-growth scale-ups such as Deliveroo. Having grown up in India before moving to the UK in 2006 and completing her MBA at the University of Cambridge, Vidya brings unique perspective as a woman of colour and an introvert navigating high-growth and fast-paced business environments. She experienced significant anxiety in the wake of the pandemic, which prompted her to reflect on what matters most and prioritise her well-being. During this time, she started practising mindfulness meditation and began supporting others through coaching and mentoring.

She now holds a leadership position and supports her colleagues and clients as they navigate the exciting – yet chaotic – environment of fastmoving scale-ups, helping them navigate the challenges and seize opportunities, and thrive.

"What a gift for all navigating or considering navigating the world of scale ups! A witty, thoughtful & highly pragmatic handbook for evaluating if scale-ups are the place for you & how to meaningfully look under the hood to interrogate the bluster, deeply consider the risk / reward, chaos / fun, youth / experience trade-offs in scale-up land vs established players & how to tackle your entry into this sometimes messy but often very rewarding world.  What I especially loved about this book was the practicality - bursting with frameworks, thought provoking lists of questions to ask oneself, opportunities for reflection & practical tips on how to develop the EQ so essential for success in scale-up land & how to evolve as a leader in this space."  - Catriona King, VP, Commercial, Skyscanner

"Many people feel they can be successful in scale-ups by being smart and having a good track record in other environments, they are often caught by surprise, only to quit or get burnt out.  This book provides the much-needed tool kit to navigate the challenges of working in a scale-up. 

I found the insights valuable - not just reflecting on my own behaviour but how to understand the behaviour of others using frameworks and case studies that bring lessons to life. Think of this as an equivalent of several hours of mentoring and coaching from successful scale-up leaders. This is a must-read for anyone transitioning to a scale-up business or working in one already but struggling with the challenges." - Dan Warne, CEO at Sessions, former Managing Director at Deliveroo

"This book is a must read for any professional pondering entry into or already navigating the scale-up world. Vidya has encapsulated a wealth of wisdom and insight in an engaging and approachable style enabling a wide spectrum of professionals to benefit from it.  These experiences are impactfully wrapped in a narrative that is educational and honest and always provides the reader with opportunities to reflect and apply these learnings. I am sure I am not the first person who thought “I wish I would have had this book 20 years ago,” as I firmly believe I would have approached a number of situations more effectively with this context as a guide." - Carmen Carey, Experienced CEO/COO for Tech Scale-up businesses across the US and EU

"...a practical educational resource for navigating the world of start-ups which are scaling up. The issues and challenges listed, the practical problems mentioned, why it happens as also ways to understand it and handle it better, speak of the author’s lived experiences. Carefully read and assimilated, it provides a willing reader-learner ways by which s/he can think about and apply meaningfully if and when they decide to enter the world of scale-ups." - The Hindu Business Line (India)